Luke Chapter 7 verse 18 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerses 18-35. - John the Baptist sends messengers to ask a question of Jesus. The reply of the Master. Verse 18. - And the disciples of John showed him of all these things. St. Luke, unlike St. Matthew, in the corresponding passage in his Gospel, does not specially mention that John was in prison; he evidently took it for granted that this would be known to his readers from the account of the Baptist's arrest and imprisonment by Herod Antipas given in ch. 3:19, 20. In the course of John's imprisonment, it is probable that very many of his disciples became hearers of Jesus. During the early period, at all events, of the Baptist's captivity it is clear that his friends and disciples had free access to his prison. There is no doubt but that, in reply to the anxious inquiries of John, his disciples told him of all the miracles they had witnessed, and the words they had heard, especially, no doubt, recounting to him much of the sermon on the mount which Jesus had lately delivered as the exposition of his doctrine. We can well imagine these faithful but impatient disciples, after detailing these marvels which they had seen, and the strange new words of winning power which they had heard, saying to their imprisoned master, "We have seen and heard these wondrous things, but the great Teacher gets no further; we hear nothing of the standard of King Messiah being raised, nothing of the high hope of the people being encouraged; he seems to pay no attention to the imperious rule of the foreigner, or the degrading tyranny of men like Antipas, the Herod who has wrongfully shut you up. He rather withdraws himself, and when the people, fired by his winning words and mighty acts, begin to grow enthusiastic, then this strange Man hides himself away. Can he be Messiah, as you once said?"

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(18-23) And the disciples of John shewed him.--See Notes on Matthew 11:2-6. The fact, mentioned by St. Luke only, that the "disciples of John" reported these things, suggests some interesting coincidences: (1) It implies that they had been present at our Lord's miracles, and had heard His teaching, and we have seen them as present in Matthew 9:14, Mark 2:18. (2) It shows that though John was in prison, his disciples were allowed free access to him. (3) The fulness of St. Luke's narrative in Luke 7:21 suggests the thought that St. Luke may have heard what he records from one of those disciples, possibly from Manaen (see Introduction, and Note on Luke 6:1) the foster-brother of the Tetrarch.